Pelagic BRUVS Dataset

Overview

The Pelagic Baited Remote Underwater Video (pBRUV) protocol is used to sample large, mobile fishes and predators in open water environments. Each deployment consists of a string of five baited stereo-camera rigs, connected and deployed simultaneously as a single sampling unit.

Data are stored in two linked tables:

• pbruv.stations — Metadata for each deployment (e.g., location, depth, bait, camera models)
• pbruv.maxn_by_taxa — Summary of fish observations by station and species, including MaxN and ecological traits

Each record in pbruv.stations represents one deployment (i.e., one string of five rigs), and all observations are linked via ps_station_id. Fish identities are standardized using accepted_aphia_id, enabling linkage to taxonomy.fish.

---

Tables

---

Stations (pbruv.stations)

This table contains metadata for each pelagic BRUVS (pBRUVS) deployment. Each row represents a single deployment event (“string”) composed of a fixed array of ~5 baited camera rigs, suspended in the water column and deployed simultaneously. Unlike SBRUVS, which rest on the seafloor, pelagic BRUVS are midwater deployments designed to sample open-ocean and upper reef-associated fish assemblages. Each rig in a string operates independently but is deployed as part of a coordinated set at a common location and time.

The station is the unit of deployment and spatial reference. Rig-level data (e.g., camera, bait, depth) are recorded in pbruv.rigs, and fish observations are stored in pbruv.maxn_by_rig.

Table 1: Schema for pbruv.stations: metadata for each pelagic BRUVS deployment string (site)

Field	Type	Required	Description
ps_station_id	STRING	true	Unique station ID (e.g., COL_2023_pbruv_001).
exp_id	STRING	true	Expedition ID (ISO3_YEAR).
method	STRING	true	Field method used (pbruv).
uwa_string_id	STRING	false	External site ID used by the University of Western Australia (if applicable).
region	STRING	true	Region name (e.g., Chocó, Tuamotu).
subregion	STRING	true	Subregion (e.g., gulf, reef complex).
locality	STRING	false	Local named feature (e.g., bay, island).
latitude	FLOAT	true	Latitude of string centroid (decimal degrees).
longitude	FLOAT	true	Longitude of string centroid (decimal degrees).
date	DATE	true	Date of deployment (ISO 8601 format).
time	TIME	true	Local time of deployment (24-hour format).
n_rigs	INTEGER	true	Number of rigs deployed in the string (typically 5).
drift_m	FLOAT	false	Mean horizontal drift distance (m) across rigs.
drift_hrs	FLOAT	false	Mean soak time (hours).
bait_type	STRING	true	Bait type used across rigs (e.g., sardines, mackerel).
lead	STRING	true	Name of the lead scientist or team lead.
notes	STRING	false	Optional comments or deployment notes.

---

Rigs (pbruv.rigs)

This table contains rig-level metadata for pelagic BRUV deployments. Each row corresponds to a single camera rig within a five-rig string. It captures the spatial position, video details, soak time, and rig-specific conditions. This granularity supports rig-level analysis while enabling later aggregation at the station level (ps_station_id).

Each rig is uniquely identified by ps_rig_id and linked to its parent station via ps_station_id.

Table 2: Schema for pbruv.rigs: metadata for individual camera rigs within each string

Field	Type	Required	Description
ps_rig_id	STRING	true	Unique rig ID (e.g., COL_2023_pbruv_001_r1).
ps_station_id	STRING	true	Foreign key to pbruv.stations.
rig_number	INTEGER	true	Rig number in the string (1–5).
lat_deploy	FLOAT	true	Latitude at deployment (decimal degrees).
lon_deploy	FLOAT	true	Longitude at deployment (decimal degrees).
lat_recover	FLOAT	true	Latitude at recovery (decimal degrees).
lon_recover	FLOAT	true	Longitude at recovery (decimal degrees).
time_deploy	DATETIME	true	Timestamp of rig deployment (ISO 8601).
time_recover	DATETIME	true	Timestamp of rig recovery (ISO 8601).
depth_m	FLOAT	true	Deployment depth (m).
left_cam	STRING	true	Left camera model or ID.
right_cam	STRING	true	Right camera model or ID.
notes	STRING	false	Optional comments or QA notes for this rig.

---

MaxN (pbruv.maxn_by_taxa)

The pbruv.maxn_by_taxa table stores rig-level summaries of fish observations from pelagic BRUVS deployments. Each row represents the maximum number of individuals (maxn) observed for a given taxon on a single rig. When available, length estimates are included as optional fields to support size-based analysis of pelagic fish communities.

Species identities are standardized via accepted_aphia_id, with traits such as family and trophic_group joined from the central species reference (taxonomy.fish).

Table 3: Schema for pbruv.maxn_by_taxa: rig-level summaries of MaxN and ecological traits

Field	Type	Required	Description
ps_station_id	STRING	true	Unique station ID (exp_id_method_###).
rig_id	STRING	true	Identifier for the rig within the string (e.g., r101, r102).
accepted_name	STRING	true	Scientific name (Genus species) of the observed taxon.
accepted_aphia_id	INTEGER	true	WoRMS AphiaID — foreign key to taxonomy.fish.
family	STRING	true	Family of the taxon.
trophic_group	STRING	true	Trophic group classification (e.g., planktivore, top-predator).
maxn	INTEGER	true	Maximum number of individuals observed simultaneously on video (MaxN).
avg_length_cm	FLOAT	false	Mean estimated total length (cm), if length data are available.
min_length_cm	FLOAT	false	Minimum observed length (cm).
max_length_cm	FLOAT	false	Maximum observed length (cm).
notes	STRING	false	Optional comments or QA notes.